pecarvspelanConfusable pair

Which to use

“pecar” and “pelan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,714
“pecar” frequency rank
#48,578
“pelan” frequency rank
76292
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pecar pelan
Definition Obrar en contra de ciertas reglas o normas éticas o mandamientos religiosos; cometer un pecado o una infracción; transgredir una prohibición moral. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de pelar o de pelarse.

Where the eye mixes pecar and pelan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pecar and pelan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
pecar
5 ch
pelan

Visual trap between pecar and pelan

A purely visual mix-up. pecar ([peˈkaɾ]) and pelan ([ˈpelãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pecar is recorded at frequency rank #27,714, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈkaɾ]. pelan is at rank #48,578, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈpelãn].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 76292, this pair ranks #18,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pecar vs pelan

Shared letters: aep. Private to "pecar": cr. Private to "pelan": ln.

"pecar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "pelan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pecar ← epcar · pcear · peacr · pecarr · peccar · pecra · ppecar
  • pelan ← eplan · pealn · pelann · pellan · ppelan

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "pecar" and "pelan" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([peˈkaɾ] versus [ˈpelãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pecar" vs "pelan" - which ranks higher?
"pecar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,714 in our Spanish list, against #48,578 for "pelan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pecar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pelan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #18,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pecar" and "pelan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pelan vs petar". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #18,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list